Ghost Club Expedition 3 (Part 3) - Old Brunei Hostel, Labrador Park, Tanglin Barracks

14th November 2008 (Friday)
GHOST CLUB SG's Expedition 3 (Part 2) takes us to 2 very interesting places: Tanglin Barracks and Old Abandoned Place off Tanglin Road. Because of the nature of these 2 places, we had the week before, held Part 1 of expedition 3, because we will probably spend alot of time exploring these 2 huge places. It was an exciting night, but it also posed alot of risks.

TANGLIN HILL ABANDONED BRUNEI HOSTEL

Our first location takes us to the exclusive neighbourhood of Tanglin Hill, where the rich and famous, some of Singapore's millionaires and possibly billionaires, reside in. At such a time where land is scarce and expensive especially in the Central Orchard district, lies a big abandoned place, almost forgotten in time. We gathered information from one of our friends who tipped us off about the place, and indeed, the place was indeed abandoned. Nearby, just opposite this abandoned place, there is an extravagant private house that is guarded by Cisco police. We started our investigation by going through the front gate, which was opened and unlocked. Locked gates are a sign telling us no entry, and we would not have ventured in if the gates were locked. Trespassing is NOT our game.

Even as we walked through the place, there were no signs or clues indicated what this place was in the past and why it was abandoned. Judging by the huge compound and the existence of various blocks and buildings inside the place, we concluded that this was not a private residence but possibly an embassy or government kind of office/building. The place easily looked like it was abandoned for about 10-15 years, and the architecture suggests that it is that belonging in the eighties era. We continued to search on for clues. Still no idea as we walked further down the little road that led to other parts of the place. It is a very huge compound!

Just then, Agent MaXx spotted a power area that had a typical bluish Singaporean sign indicating the name of the place. It wrote "Brunei Hostel". Wow! We got it! This place used to be a hostel and one reason why it is still here untouched is because it belongs to Brunei! Amazing. We were very curious what happened to this place and what is the history behind the building, and couldn't wait to research on it.

HISTORY OF BRUNEI HOSTEL

After our exploration that night, Agent GQ and myself excitedly proceeded to do some research on the history of the "Brunei Hostel", and we uncovered some very interesting information!

(picture adapted from http://www.bt.com.bn).

Brunei was a very poor nation in the early 20th century, and formal education only started in 1914. By the beginning of World War II, Brunei had a total of only 23 Malay schools in the nation. Due to a shortage of teachers, many students were being sent overseas by the 1950s as part of the nation's effort to educate its young. This included a stream of students being posted to Singapore in the mid 1950s. The first groups of students stayed at Jalan Haji Salam off Bedok Road, and some of the earlier Islamic students stayed individually at houses around the Geylang areas. It was not until 1958 that the Tanglin Hill hostel was used by the Islamic students. The hostel was eventually called AKBS or Asrama Kerajaan Brunei di Singapura.

Picture adapted from www.bruneiresources.blogspot.com

Picture of Brunei students in the Tanglin Hill Hostel in the late 1950s. The architecture of the place is exactly the same one we captured and hence confirms the place we were exploring was indeed the Brunei Hostel! By 1983, Brunei had developed its own elite Secondary Schools and the country stopped sending students to Singapore. Counting the years back, this place has been abandoned for more than 25 years! Amazing!

Of course we did not have the luxury of real time Internet access, therefore we could only proceed on to explore the place that night. But at least we knew that this was a hostel for students. We pondered if there was a possibility of a disease epidemic (i.e.,SARS) that could have drove everyone away, or a gruesome murder that took place within the grounds that was too horrific to allow the place to carry on. We took several moments to get a feel and general orientation of the place....



Them whole area seem to be divided into different sections. The main building nearest to the entrance seemed to be that of probably some admin or reception area, and the main students' hostel was behind, as taken from the pictures above. In between there seem to be another area like that of a hall, and another area that looked higher classed than the students rooms, possibly a lecturer's dormintory or lounge area.

Other smaller buildings surround the hostel, probably functioning as admin or for store purposes. It would definitely take some time for us to explore the whole place. The slightly run down state of the hostel added to the risks that we potentially face as structures become unstable. And of course, the mosquitoes were out in full force, rare to find humans in these compounds! We moved around the outside trying get a better feel of the place where it is safe.


Is that a shadow of a human figure standing on a flight of steps that lead to the school hostel? We cannot tell but if you look closely, it does resemble a human shadow. Over imagination perhaps, because we were still feeling apprehensive about the place...Otherwise, overall it was silent and peaceful. We oriented ourselves as well as our minds to tune in to the feel of the place. Initially our hearts were racing as we realized how big the place is and the risks we faced. We kind of felt a little apprehensive. This is by far GhostClub's first exploration at night at a place of this magnitude. But once our hearts were calmed down, I suggested that we take a tour inside the place proper. And so we recced the place to see where is a good spot to move into the building.




We decided to take the cue from the safest entry structure of the place: the staircase of course! It looked pretty solid, thankfully made of concrete and not wood or metal. The walls though, looked faded and run down. I took the lead, armed with my video camera, as the rest of the guys followed closely behind me.




We entered the compound slowly. The place was littered with debris and some of the structures inside were torn and tattered. As expected, wooden structures were a common find inside, typical of materials used in the 70s. Parts of the wooden ceiling threatened to fall off or had already fallen off, nearby wooden cupboards had disintegrated as well. It was quiet but generally peaceful.

As we entered the building, we realized the whole place was filled with many rooms and places to go to. Not surprising as this was a hostel in the past. But it was probably interesting to know what the areas we explore were used for.







More doors, openings and areas. Which to explore first we wondered as we slowly moved along....

Some places were locked, what lies inside the locked door? Trapped for more than 25 years, it may contain hidden treasures, human remains or another secret trap door? We wouldn't know for sure...But as we carried on, we entered a bigger hall-like room.

The side grills typically transforms the place back to the early 1970s. It was as if we had stumbled upon a lost world, a forgotten part of history, a place nesting with life and activities more than 25 years ago.

At another section of the side grill, we captured an orb appearing! Closer examination of the orb seem to reveal a human face within it. But it looked more like a harmless face than a sinister one. We certainly did not feel threatened in anyway. Perhaps the spirit of the old Bruneian hostel caretaker? Or an administrative staff of the past 'processing' us in as we visited the place? We carried on exploring...

It could be a central/admin area or dining area of some sort, as the side grills gave a good view of the outside garden and an entry point from the other parts of the building outside. But of course in the wee hours of the morning, the view outside sure looks very spooky and eerie! As we moved on to another side of the area, we saw that it overlooked a big spacious place, something evident of a hall/assembly section of the hostel.

A closer picture of the area overlooking what appeared a hall/assembly area. It would be interesting to head down to the hall to check out the place. The various columns in the hall area certainly makes darting shadows a real possibility, especially in the extreme dark. We opened our eyes and kept our vigiliance as we looked from the 2nd storey down to the hall.

We proceeded down to the hall area by climbing a flight of steps down from the 2nd storey. There was a mini stage at the front of this area, again confirming that it could indeed be some sort of hall. The place was littered with orbs. Sometimes we can hear faint strange noises as we stood still in the area. What appeared to be footsteps at times, scattered moving sounds and just a strange atmosphere.

Suddenly Agent Goatie said he heard a strange woman's voice/cry. He could not make out what it was but he was adamant that he had heard the ladylike voice. We stopped fora moment to listen but could not hear any. Strange encounter. Compared to the upper floors we had explored so far, this place gave the most 'feeling'. Perhaps because it used to be filled with the most human activity, this place resided alot of memories and vibes from the past.

From the hall area we noticed another section of the building that led to the actual hostel rooms. So we turned back to find that linkway to that section of the building.

We exited the hall area and found the passageway that led to the hostel rooms! The exit sign certainly looks very retro!

Camera shot of the passageway where students used to stay in one of the many rooms here. It is quite a narrow passageway and we had to walk a single file along this path that was again littered with debris. Certainly will fail a fire safety inspection. Imagine if there was a fire, the narrow passageway will become a hotbed for stampede! We were curious to explore some of the rooms to see how it looked liked. We decided to randomly explore the rooms and we chose room number 7!

Knock knock! Anyone in? May we come in to take a look? We anxiously looked into the room for signs of movement or activity. Thankfully it looked peaceful...

Anyone sleeping on the bed? Hope not! Sorry for 'disturbing your sleep' this late at night!

Old wooden cupboard. Again, very retro 70s like. Nowadays not in fashion as it invites termites and it is not that durable.

For each room, there was an attached toilet cum bathroom. There was even a bathtub in the toilet! Bubble bath anyone? Quite welfare compared to army life where we have to share a mass toilet cum bathroom. But come to think of it, probably it is expected because being a conservative country in the past, the students probably will not be allowed to shower in a mass area together.


Spooky looking mirror where we decided to take a shot and see if anything appeared on the 'other side'. Nothing much except for myself and Agent MaXx being blinded by the reflected flashlight.

Each room was roughly the size of a HDB master bedroom and each room on this side of the building overlooked into a area of lush greenary and trees. Probably can imagine waking up to the sounds of birds chirping and warm sunshine peering in. Nice thought indeed....We exited the relatively peaceful room and continued walking along the narrow passageway. From here, we can still see the hall that we had been to just now. Somehow the hall still looks creepy to me.

Above the hall area it appeared to be more hostel rooms for students. Looking from over here, it seems that the structure of this side of the building looks more unstable as some of the passageway ceilings are collapsing, so we decided not to venture up there. We finished exploring the hostel rooms and proceeded down to the main ground floor area. We spotted a pit or pond of some sort that was filled with dark murky water. NEA, this is a tip for mosquito breeding! Unless perhaps there are some hidden crocodiles inside that lives here! Yucks, both thoughts makes our hair stand.

We proceeded on to other sections of the place, and noticed this area on the right that resembled some sort of lounge area. It looked 'higher classed' than other parts of the buildings. Possibly for teachers or perhaps students to relax in.

There was also a staircase that leads to a 2nd storey. There was even aircon on the 2nd story area which confirms that this place is of higher importance compared to the rest of the buildings. Wait! Is that a shadow of a person that seems to be looking out of the 2nd window from the right? Both windows by the side are slightly ajar except for this window with the human figure. Distorted vision or a teacher curious about our arrival?

We would love to have gone up to the 2nd storey to explore more but the poor state of the place posed too much of a physical risk for us to satisfy our curiosity.

We continued walking around the ground level. The moon was bright today but yet it was partially hidden by a thick mass of clouds. The shot below showed the moon clearly. It also showed how dark the place was for the camera to capture the shape of the moon so well. Of course, orbs also appeared together with the picture.

These pictures below showed how dark the place was, despite the presence of the moonlight. Orbs appeared, and we sometimes could still feel some light uneasiness and weird sounds here and there. But we were unable to trace the source or make anything more out.

Shot of one of the places we heard strange noises, but nothing much was captured except for a faint orb on the right side of the picture where the wall ends off. A student trying to play hide and seek with us?

Back view of the other section of hostel room that was on top of the hall area that we did not explore due to the unstable structures we had seen from the other side just now.

Any student looking out towards us from the balcony of their hostel room? Thankfully no....With this, we concluded our exploration of the Brunei Hostel.
Overall, this place is certainly huge and one filled with alot of residue activity and memories of the past more than anything violent or sinister. We had some strange encounters, feelings and experiences in scattered forms, and certain parts of the building yielded more spooks than others, overall this place is certainly worthy to be rated mildly haunted, but under the category of residual haunting rather than intelligent haunting. Memories of the past certainly glittered over here.
SPOOK FACTOR: 4/10

LABRADOR PARK

Our next location takes us to the beautiful and scenic Labrador Park. Located along Pasir Panjang Road, this park offers a great place to barbeque, take a stroll, capture wedding shots and have family outings together. Overlooking the sea and with a side view of Sentosa, Labrador Park is a great place to be, especially in the evenings as the sunsets are known to be captivating!

(Picture adapted from pasirpanjangheritage.blogspot.com)

Apart from the place being a park, the area of Labrador is also a historical place as it was one of Singapore's costal defence line when the British occupied our lands in the 19th century. Gun batteries and ammunition depots are common and can still be found at sections of the park. The famous Labrador Underground Tunnel is also a unique tourist attraction nowadays, offering people a chance to walk into the forgotten tunnels that once existed in the past.

(Picture adapted from www.nparks.gov.sg)

Unlike our neighbour Kent Ridge Park, Labrador Park had never tasted the action of war as the Japanese never came by the sea, therefore, Labrador Park holds slightly more historical value than paranormal incidents.

OLD COLONIAL HOUSE

Nonetheless, we were tipped off that along the road leading to Labrador Park lies an old colonial house, and this itself warrants an exploration! Further in we also wanted to explore the long rumoured existence of an underground tunnel that links Labrador Park to Sentosa. But first up, the colonial house. We found it quite easily as the roads leading to Labrador Park are quite easy to navigate.

First impressions of the colonial house looks quite interesting and held some potential. Old winding weeds overwhelm the gates, the house looks old from the outside and it also looks pretty big. The old architecture suggests that it is indeed a colonial house with at least 70 years of history attached to it. With some wits we crawled through the metal gate into the compound. No signs indicating illegal trespassing, so we are good to go in. As we approached the main house, suddenly we were greeted by...........

Rubbish......rubbish.....and more rubbish! It was like a place filled with junk, typical of a garang guni man, and the place seemed to have been evolved into a storage place. There were old bicycle tyres, tables, chairs, old wooden structure, decoratives, even a lantern!


And the place was also riddled with vandalism and graffiti, a sign that others have also ventured into the place and left their art behind. Overall this place reeks of civilization and modern day junk. It was definitely short of being haunted. Perhaps someone is sleeping upstairs, as we looked up to the 2nd storey of the building. The windows were left opened.


Garang Guni man upstairs? Possibly sound asleep. We kept quiet and tried to listen to any snoring, nothing of that sort though....We continued checking around the area. Nearby we even saw a few old looking power generators. Agent MaXx said that these 'babies' are possibly the most expensive items of the junk here.

Towards the main porch of the building we saw a graffiti that says 'God Bless Our Mansion'. Bless the mansion from what? Is there something more to this historical house? To further add to the sentence, we noticed a red chinese religious paper burning bin nearby....

Followed by an altar to its left side. This is a typical setup for praying and offering of joss sticks to the God of Heaven. But the offerings on this particular table included tools like spanner, brush, an unusual bouquet of sunflowers and even a spray can. Very interesting indeed. Offering to who?

We continued on this exploration which has turned up into an exploration of junk rather than paranormal. It is indeed quite amazing to find all kinds of things and junk here. Just like the paranormal, you never know what you will find....


This garang guni man is also a carpenter! A typical technical work station is found nearby at the entrance of the house, complete with hammer and saw. Reminds me of my own technical study days when in secondary school. Overall this place is definitely debunked as being haunted. Except for the scary extent of the junk here, nothing else seems to spook us out!

SPOOK FACTOR: 1/10 (scary extent of junk!)


SECRET UNDERGROUND TUNNEL
Somewhere near to the main park overlooking the sea and Sentosa, there lies another rumoured underground tunnel that links the park to Sentosa. We decided to explore a little bit. The base of the park also has several bunkers and gun positions. We wonder if there are any links to the secret tunnel from these positions. We decided to check out the inside of the bunkers. Unfortunately, the door leading to the bunkers were locked. And the bunkers were designed to just allow for a machine gun to be placed through a small gap so that the gunners inside will be well protected by bullets. We could not peep inside to see how the inner bunker look like.

Not wanting to give up so easily and using some ingenuity, we decided to stretch our hand into the bunker and take some pictures of the inside! Smart isn't it! And the following shots reveal how the inside of the bunker looks like. Pretty interesting!

Seem to be more compartments and channels that may possibly lead to other areas, judging by the looks of the inside. But from another angle taken from the back of the bunker, it became clearer. The bunker was a self-contained area probably allowing 1-2 gunners a position to fire their machine guns. Their only entrance was from the back door and that was their only way to leave too. Poor gunners, its either they kill all their enemies or get overpowered and die at the end since there is no other escapes. A tough job indeed.

We continued along the pathway that led to a little red lighthouse that overlooks Sentosa. Along this stretch of waterline on Friday evenings, you will see the grand Star Cruise Aquarius sail by as it starts its cruise tour, and it is one of the most majestic sights you will experience, seeing a huge Titanic-like cruise ship sail by and towering above you as it is so near to the shoreline....*back to reality! As we explored the area, we found what could be the start of the underground tunnel! Hidden by rocks and with an area cemented, this tunnel has forever sealed its fate. No one will ever know what lies hidden behind the cement. But the sight of this tunnel certainly makes things very intriguing. Perhaps there was some truth in the rumoured link to Sentosa!

Nearby on the grass patch that we were on as we explored the underground link tunnel, we saw a very gruesome and scary sight. Ants, lots of them, dark reddish in colour and with big pincer heads, were busy walking along a designated route. They looked focused and busy, but we are sure if we disrupt their walk route, they will certainly attack us. Wow, ants certainly work more overtime than social workers.


Near to where the tunnel and ants were, there is actually a big structure/building on the top of a small hill to the side of the park. The history and purpose of this place is uncertain. It looks old, but nearby a radar satelite station is in operation and probably means that the place up there may be protected by the Singapore Police. We are also unable to find the route that will lead up to the building. Hence we are unable to ascertain if the place up there held any paranormal activities.

One of the many signs along the park illustrating the history of the park and how this place used to be in the past. The interesting names associated with this waterline was also explained. The channel between Labrador Park and Sentosa, where I mention that Star Cruise would sail through, used to be called Dragon Teeth Gate! We continued on to the inside of the park, concluding that the underground tunnel is still a question mark as we are unable to explore the inside.
SPOOK FACTOR: unable to ascertain
GUN BATTERY AND POSITIONS
Finally we moved to the inner park itself to explore the dark areas that is filled with relics from the past, gun positions and ammunition storage facilities. The main entrance to the park is through the narrow slope that is flanked by two tall fortress-like brick walls. A soldier on sentry in the form of a bluish orb appeared to greet us. 'Halt! Who goes there?!'


The inside of the park is pretty peaceful and the figurines as well as gun positions, although looking a little spooky and freaky at night, does not pose much of a paranormal threat.

The only threatening stuff were probably the mosquitoes that were biting us like buffet supper.

Looking at the date that is engraved onto the wall if this ammunition storage area, it dates back 116 years! Wow this is how old the place is.

The freaky figurines that seem to still be 'working' this late at night....If any one of them started moving, turn his head or give out commands, I am sure we will all scurry for our lives!

Dark and history filled, if there were any paranormal activities, it will be highly likely one of a residual nature and not anything sinister. But today we definitely did not feel anything here to suggest even a residual haunting. As a white elephant gun position, Labrador Park certainly pales in shadow of its counterpart Kent Ridge Park. We decided to debunk this place and move on to our next location!
SPOOK FACTOR: 0/10


OLD TANGLIN CAMP
Finally, we decided to save the best for last as we headed for the Old Tanglin Camp, off Dempsey Road opposite the Botanical Gardens. This place was illustrated in our earlier entry as we made a recce day trip there, the sheer size of the compound and the many experiences of army personnels there made it a dangerous and risky place to explore. But one of the most challenging situation we were up against as we headed there was the fact that Tanglin Camp is a security protected place, armed with video cameras as we had discovered in our day recce. Frequent patrolling by the Singapore Police Force in their dark blue land rover is also a common sight, especially at night. We decided to go there only at about 4 plus in the morning as we thought it would be the safest time, nearer to dawn and people being fast alseep

We quietly pulled up along a road opposite to the slope that led to the old Tanglin Camp, it was the place we had spotted policemen the other time at night. We were sure they remembered our orange car that night as we certainly looked suspicious. The color orange certainly did not help our course. But tonight, as we kept our eyes opened for any police presence, there wasn't any. Perhaps they are really napping! Agent Goatie and Agent Gilson decided to stay in the car while the 3 of us will explore the camp. In case of policemen being spotted, they will tip us off.

All was peaceful and but a little spooky. Our hearts were racing as we climbed up the slope that will lead to a side of the fence surrounding the camp that had a hole big enough for us to go through. From halfway up the slope, we already could see Old Tanglin Camp slowly presenting itself to us. Wow. It was a really exciting prospect!

I sneaked through the hole first, and made my way into the camp. All was very quiet and the place reeked of a certain kind of heaviness. We were a little tensed up as we walked up the first flight of steps that will bring us to the upper level of the camp. It was super dark and our hearts were racing. But so far we did not hear or experience anything yet.

We managed to climb up the flight of steps towards where an area of banana trees were. From that point, we could actually see our mandarin orange car parked opposite the camp. Just when we wanted to carry on our exciting exploration, we heard a vehicle engine sound. We froze to see what emerges from the road below. We saw a police land rover slowly driving past our car.
Immediately, we decided it was time to leave! Go Go Go! Retreat! We have somehow been detected and the police had sent its patrol team out. We scurried back down to the hole, trying to be swift and yet quiet. Thankfully the police did not see us in the camp but probably noticed our orange car instead. Within 2 minutes, we were out of the camp and slowly trying to be calm while walking back to the car. The land rover was parked further down to where our car was. We abandoned our mega torches in the bushes, because the police will definitely see them if we came to the car. We started the car, went to collect the torches, and left the place.
What an adventure! But unfortunately, the conclusion for Old Tanglin Camp reminds a mystery. The police did not help in enabling us to do a proper investigation. And therefore it left us quite disappointed, especially considering the huge potential this place has for paranormal activities.
SPOOK FACTOR: unable to conclude

And with this, it ends GHOST Club's 3rd Expedition. This expedition certainly included some very interesting areas and locations, including the majestic Brunei Hostel and Tanglin Camp itself. Unfortunately some places were ruined by humans (garang guni man, policemen) but overall it had been a fun, challenging and intriguing experience for all of us!

Ghost Club Expedition 3 (Part 2) - Sunset Way, Old Holland Road

7th November 2008 (Friday)

G.H.O.S.T Club SG's 3rd expedition takes us to the hunt for Pontianaks from the infamous Sunset Way, an abandoned railway track very near to civilization and located within the Clementi neighbourhood. It will also take us to explore the quiet and lonely stretch of road off Old Holland Road. Finally, as a finale to the Kent Ridge Park saga, we will revisit the place once again to see if we are able to dispel any myths and/or make sense out of our previous experience there! This time around, we have an experienced team comprising of (from left) myself, Agent Maxwell, Agent Gilson, Agent Goatie and Agent GQ. Even before setting off for our expedition, we are already greeted by a friendly orb hovering above us!! Resident ghost from Block 437 perhaps?

SUNSET WAY ABANDONED RAILWAY TRACKS

In day time, Sunset Way is a seasoned and cosy neighbourhood that houses residents for more than 30 years... Located within the Clementi neighbourhood and overlooking a canal, this area is a favourite place for joggers, elderly residents taking a stroll and youths hanging out and fishing beside the canal. It is also surrounded by lush greenary and private houses, hence making it a serene and peaceful place to be as a getaway from the hustle of the main central area.

Pictures adapted from (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crumplerguy/2260236075/)

Located within this neighbourhood is a stretch of abandoned railway tracks that is clearly visible during the daytime. The most obvious point of the track is the bridge that extends out of the jungle and across the canal further off Clementi Road. Built in the 1960s by the Keretapi Tanah Melayu as part of the Jurong Line that extends from the Tanjong Pagar Station, this railway line served as a transport channel for raw materials coming from the Malay Peninsula that was intended for factories in the West.

However, it was not extensively used and several years later, the track was closed as it was not economical to run the trains along the lines. And since then, it was left abandoned. Today, rust has set in on most parts of the tracks, giving it a gloomy and old look to it. The tracks have since found its own life, being a scenic spot for wedding pictures and a favourite haunt for nature lovers and trekkers.

At night, the tracks also take on a life of its own. It is plunged into spooks and darkness. Youths who fish nearby sometimes report strange screaming sounds from the railway tracks, while others who explored the place at night report of Pontianak sightings. A youth I know related his own accounts of how he and his friends used to explore the place at night, and they fell asleep there, only to be woken up by a woman's voice. They awake to find a Pontianak standing beside them, looking at them. They bolted and ran away, only to hear a horric laughter behind them. The stories, while claimed to be true accounts, remained a little too incredible and somewhat exaggerated for our liking. Hence, we decided to dispel the myths and stories behind by having our own explorations.

We reached Sunset Way past midnight, parked our car near the HDB block, and walked towards the tracks. It was amazing how echoes of sounds can be heard all over the area, sounds of people talking from the blocks, clinking sounds from the kitchen, TV sounds etc, it all points to a high possibilities that when you are up on the tracks, you may be hearing sounds coming from the nearby HDB blocks. The place was also pretty bright as lights from the HDB blocks and streetlamps from the roads illuminated the tracks. Our only threat was the slippery slopes that lead up to the tracks as it was raining earlier on.

As we walked up the slope, we were greeted by a host of white 'figures floating' up along the tree branches! Wow, on another day, without a torch and feeling sleepy, anyone could have easily mistook these plastic bags as Pontianaks, no doubt! And a whole platoon of them somemore! Fortunately the sane mind interpreted that they were merely bags that covered the jackfruits from insects and ants, placed up there most likely by the folks from the town councils, in anticipation of a jackfruit party during their grassroots events...

We moved on, up the slippery slope, as we were greeted by yet another 'white thing' within the trees....by now, the majestic railway bridge had appeared before us: it looked grand amidst the darkness. It sounded much quieter up as we proceeded, but ocassionally we could still hear voices echoing from the nearby HDB blocks...

The first clear sighting of the railway bridge. We used to call the Kallang Stadium the "Grand Old Lady". I think this railway bridge can be the "Grand Old Track"...Its kinda amazing how an ancient piece of engineering can still be found within the modern day, nested right in the heart of civilization and standing the test of time...

Sadly, this Grand Old Track is also a sorry sight for vandalism. As you can see from the picture taken, it is ravaged with spray paints and glittered with the distasteful work of vandals and spoilers. What inconsiderate people there are all over the world. We trekked on, putting past the temporary disappointment of the lack of social grace...

Slowly we reached up onto the tracks itself. Up here, it is really so dark that we can hardly see anything within 5 metres ahead of us. Worse still, there are actually alot of dangers, not so much from the paranormal realm, but the physical one instead. The track is filled with the ocassional broken slabs that exposed a hole. If not careful we can plunge through the hole and below us is the canal. The railway bridge stood at least 6 storeys high from the canal below, and some of us were already getting height phobia just looking down through the holes...I took the lead in walking, as the rest of the team were gingerly moving forward. Perhaps the trainings in army helped ease any fear of heights. An orb appeared in the top right hand corner of the first picture I took of the railway track, but nothing much to feel or see.

And of course, despite the physical dangers, we were still determined to find out if there were anything paranormal here, and continued walking along the bridge, wondering where and how far it will take us. So far the pictures as well as the general feeling of the place was peaceful and calm, our hearts beating only when we looked down into the canal at the bottom of us...

Approximately after about 40 metres of walking, we actually reached the end of the railway. It was just a sudden end to the track and the only thing left in front was a 6 storey drop down. Some cause for concern indeed for the authorities to consider, as it may pose a danger if someone drunk were to fall off the end of the bridge. We decided to walk back, as there was nothing here that suggest that the tracks were haunted. It was slightly disappointing, especially after all the stories of the place. But we were curious how long the tracks continued at the opposite end, as from where we were standing, it extends all the way into the forest along Clementi Road. So we u-turned and walked on...

As we ventured deeper into the opposite end of the railway bridge, we came across some puzzling sights. Up on some of the trees, we noticed the weirdest things hanging down from the tree branches. There were ropes, wooden structure looking like a piece of fence (above), plastic barricades, more ropes (below) and just an array of constuction stuff. But how did they end up UP on the trees and tied in between branches? Did something sinister placed the items up, casting almost like a web across the trees? It is highly unlikely that the wind blew them up, but as to why, we had no answers...

The further we walked along the tracks, the deeper we seem to go into the forest. The tracks also became less and less visible, as the grass had grown to cover the tracks...see if you can spot the faint outline of the track in the picture below. The surroundings became more and more quiet, the air getting slightly heavier. There was little talking, not sure if everyone was starting to feel the change in the atmosphere, but we trooped on slowly.

I was still the lead man, and without a torch tonight, my vision in front was in total darkness. I snapped a few shots along the way as we moved forward, hoping to catch anything interesting in front of us. Most of the shots turned up dark and uneventful, except for this interesting picture of a reddish orb that appeared pretty close to me in front of the track...

Seem to resemble almost a human face when zoomed up close. What is intriguing is that there weren't any reflective surface around and little chance of light reflection. And the place is so dark, if it was a dust particle, it would not also turn up as a reddish glow. And this picture was taken just as I was starting to feel the atmosphere changing and the air becoming thicker. Unfortunately other than this picture, I did not see or hear anything that I could tie back to this strange reddish orb. As such, we can only dismiss the picture as inconclusive.

The surroundings continued to look spookier by the minute. But actually as we moved on, the atmosphere improved, and the air thinned out as well. Perhaps it was only at that particular stretch where the reddish orb appeared that may suggest some form of paranormal activity. As we walked on, we were actually walking further and further away from the car, meaning that we have to walk all the way back to our vehicle if we continued to move on. The track supposedly will lead all the way to the Tanjong Pagar Station, but no way we will walk all the way there!



The track continues along the jungle, deep down towards Tanjong Pagar Railway Terminal....

We stopped at one part of the track, after having walked for almost 1 km we reckon. We started to discuss what is the possible routes that this track will lead to...probably Bouna Vista and then towards Bukit Merah and finally cutting through to Tanjong Pagar. But we weren't sure.

Adapted from www.goodmorningyesterday.blogspot.com

An online research after the expedition revealed that this is probably how the track looked like in the form of a map in the 1960s...We decided to finish our exploration of the Sunset Way railway tracks roughly at this point, as rumours has it that it is within this area that Pontianaks were sighted. Further down would be another locality already. And just as we were walking back to our car, we heard a loud single shriek, it jolted all of us and we were stunned. We started asking each other what it was. Is it a car screeching? Didn't sound like. Agent G said it could be a dog, but it sounded louder than a dog, and the sound actually caused a dog to start barking. No....it didn't sound like a dog. What was it? Certainly not human, neither is it a car or an animal. We actually caught it on ou digital voice recorder. After multiple reviews we are unable to ascertain what it was still. Was it a Pontianak making its presence known right at the end?

It was certainly an interesting finale to the Sunset Way Railway Tracks...other than that, we can probably conclude that this place is not haunted...

SPOOK FACTOR: 2/10

OLD HOLLAND ROAD

Near from where Clementi Road cuts into Holland Village, where the former Police Dog Unit used to be, there exists a stretch of road called "Old Holland Road". It is an estate of private housing but a little further in, there is a huge piece of empty grassland and a long pull of narrow, quiet road. It actually links Ulu Pandan Road to Holland Road and Bukit Timah Road. Pictures of Old Holland Road are captured nicely by Mr Lam Chun See, from his blog (www.goodmorningyesterday.blogspot.com):

The huge empty grassland looks so unlike cramp and crowded Singapore. At sunset, it draws a stunning picture of vastness and inspiration! Nearby to the huge land, there is a section of the road that is mysteriously closed up, almost resembling the Old Jurong Road that was also closed off during Expedition 2. We wonder what lies ahead! And that is where we decided to explore the closed road! It was extremely dark as we made our way in. We didn't want to shine too much light or create too much sounds as it may disturb the neighbhouring residents. Everything was extremely quiet and the air hung...

Section of the road was still visible by the classic white line that separates roads in Singapore. But somehow, the sides of the roads are engulfed by the grasslands, making the road look really small. We moved on slowly, and kind of gingerly as we are unable to see what is ahead. We had a tense feeling, as if expecting that something was going to appear in front of us at any moment!

The road gets darker and darker as we ventured deeper and deeper in. Nobody really said a word. We only took some pictures. It was indeed a little eerie.

As we were walking, although everything remained quiet, I have that feeling of being watched, by things on the left hand side of us, among the trees and bushes. It was an uncomfortable feeling but nothing to threaten a turn back, so we continued walking on. At one point of time we captured an orb appearing on the right hand side of this picture. Who is watching us? I can imagine they are thinking what are 5 people doing in this part of the land at this hour.

It was at this instant when Agent Goatie said he heard sounds from a distance away, along the huge piece of grassland. We all turned to our right and listened. There was sounds no doubt, some of us thought it was a woman crying, while I heard more like a series of strange, unrecognizable voices or tones. We all had the same conclusion that the sound was pretty far away from us, in the general direction opposite of where we were heading but there was definitely something or someone in the field. So we decided to u-turn and walk back to explore this sound. Unfortunately our investigation yielded nothing. No one, not even any animals were present in the direction where we had heard the sound. We just kind of dismissed it. And somehow none of us actually talked about continuing our walk along the abandoned road.

adapted from www.goodmorningyesterday.blogspot.com

However, after the expedition, my online reseach threw up some very interesting information regarding the abandoned road we had explored the other night. The picture above shows the road we had been walking, beyond the barricade for about 500m before we heard the strange sound and turned back...

According to Mr Lam, he mentioned that beyond this barricade is a road that used to be called Holland Lane, and it actually leads to a Chinese cemetry and a temple at the end. Now that it is closed, the place becomes even more creepy and eerie. Could this explain why I felt that things were watching us as we walked down the road? Research on the National Archives collection also revealed that a Chinese Temple indeed exists beyond the old abandoned road!

Certainly a cause for a follow up investigation to this place. Cannot help but wonder also, did for some strange reason, someone or something deliberately made the voice to divert our attention away from the cemetry and made us u-turn? Perhaps they did not want us to see them and deployed a decoy? More questions for now...

SPOOK FACTOR: 3/10 (to follow up)

KENT RIDGE PARK - REVISITED

After exploring Old Holland Road, we headed onto Kent Ridge Park for a re-visit! We were determined to see if the expedition the other time was indeed paranormal, or perhaps if there were signs of the poles shaking and clinking again today, it will probably end up that what we witnessed that day was just something that happens every single night. So the key objective was to be able to validate what we had witnessed the other time. With anticipation, we drove to Kent Ridge Park. The time was about 2 plus am, almost the same time that we had explored the place the other time!

Somehow as we reached Kent Ridge Park, the place was littered with people, much more people today, than the last expedition. There were motorbikes, people chatting, laughing, having supper at the wooden benches and tables, the air was thick with civilization. We made our way down to the infamous parade square. Even as we made our way down, the air was thinner and the place just looked generally brighter! We noticed that there were in fact more park lamps that were lit today, compared to the other time! That made us ponder. The park lamps usually work on a timer and their light will be on the same time every night. And even if it is working on power saver mode, it will off itself once in a while and re-on back again after some time. The lamps that were lit today were not lit on that fateful night. We stayed at the parade square for about an hour and the lamps remained lit. Did something sinister really was there that day and it had the power to control the lights?

The poles were all not moving tonight. They were dead still. Not even the center pole was moving. Everything was just a peaceful and calm feeling. We all agreed that today the air is so light and so different from the one we had felt that night when the pole shook and made that sound. We concluded that whatever that was that fateful night is 'not here' tonight..We tried to replicate the night by making the same comments about the tree that caused the pole to start shaking. But to no effect. We started asking some questions to see if anyone is here with us tonight. Nothing much too...

At one stage of time, me and Agent Maxwell felt that there were actually some things with us, just as we started asking questions, they were kind of hidden behind the trees, harmlessly looking at us and wondering what we are doing. They were simply 'watching us'. At times they will move from place to place, as we have both felt, but they were probably not compelled to have the need to show themselves to us. Perhaps lost soldiers from the past, but nothing sinister compared to that experience that night.

Out of boredom that we were not getting much response, Agent Gilson gamely posed at the poles, and waited to see if anything happened. Nothing. We placed the EMF reader right at the center pole and 'requested for the entity' to up the reading if it is around. Nothing too. What was baffling was that the wind tonight was stronger, much stronger than that night, but none of the poles moved even an inch. It made the experience we had even more conclusive that something paranormal happened that night. If our hypothesis that wind caused the pole to shake, it would definitely shake now. But it didn't.

Agent Gilson even went forward to shake the center pole, in an attempt to create some kind of paranormal response or perhaps infuriate whatever it was, in a respectful manner though. But again, no response. After an hour of being there, we concluded that whatever that happened during our last expedition was something definitely not explainable and certainly adds concrete that it was a paranormal experience.

In the first of its kind, GHOST CLUB SG can certainly conclude with strong convictions that Kent Ridge Park is indeed haunted, after the 'lack of activity' and inconsistencies experienced in our numerous trips here. And with this it ends an interesting Expedition 3 (Part 1) for the Club! Stay tuned for Part 2 coming up next!